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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XIL 



General Meeting. 

 Colombo Museum Library, October 10, 1892. 

 Present : 



The Lord Bishop of Colombo, President, in the Chair. 



Mr, W. N. S. Asserappa. 

 Mr. F. H. M. Corbet. 

 Mr. C. E. H. Corea. 

 Mr. F. H. de Vos. 

 Dr. W. G. Keith. 

 Dr. A. Nell. 

 Mr. D. C. Pedris. 



Dr. Lisboa Pinto. 



Hon. P. Ramanathan, C.M.G. 



Mr. W. P. Ranasinha. 



Mr. F. C. Roles. ° 



Hon. A. de A. Seneviratna. 



Dr. W. G. Vandort. 



Mr. A. van Starrex. 



Mr. E. S. W. Senathi Raja, Honorary Secretary. 

 Mr. Gerard A. Joseph, Assistant Secretary. 

 Visitors : — Three ladies and ten gentlemen. 



Business. 



1. Read and confirmed Minutes of Meeting held on 

 August 9, 1892. 



2. Dr. Vandort, by special request of the writer (who was 

 unable to attend the Meeting), read the following Paper : — 



THE ETHNOLOGY OF CEYLON. 

 By Mr. Advocate Louis Nell. 



Preamble. 



Many points in the following Paper have been lately 

 anticipated in the discussion of collateral subjects at the 

 meetings of this Society, and it is therefore necessary to 

 explain that much of what I have now attempted to prove 

 historically has been suggested to my mind by circumstances 

 which strongly attracted my notice many years back. 



When I was acting as Deputy Queen's Advocate at Jaffna 

 during the years 1863 to 1866 I saw ola writings in the 

 Malayalam language produced in the District Court in some 

 civil cases arising from tobacco contracts. The similarity to 

 Sinhalese writing struck me forcibly, in the same manner 

 that the costume of Kandyan women had before suggested a 

 relation to the costume of Tamil or Indian women. Then 

 followed impressions from the Tamil character of the remains 



